Find a progression plan and stick to it. Without a plan, you’re just going off feelings and if you’re anything like me, I never feel like running. “Couch to 5k” is a good search term to start with. Don’t get wrapped up in finding the perfect plan, just pick one and go and adjust the plan over time.

Take your time. Lots of the plans out there are like “get ready for a marathon in 8 weeks!!!”. Look at your chosen plan and stretch it out way longer. Your joints and tendons will take longer to get up to speed than your muscles and cardio.

Find a stretching/mobility routine that works for you. Some people need a lot of stretching and some don’t; do what helps you. For me, there’s basically one stretch that is a must after running, others are nice but I’m fine if I don’t get to them.

I set my daily/weekly goals with what works for me. I know I won’t run every day. I set a goal of, say, 3x per week. I don’t even say “run on Monday, Wednesday, Friday” because the flexibility of any three days within the week works better for me. Sometimes I go to bed planning to run in the morning, wake up and say “nope”, and I am ok with that.

As others have mentioned, find a decent beginner program and follow it. Other advice:

• run slow. Really slow. Embarrassingly slow. Slow enough to have a conversation. You don’t need to do any speed work yet.
• your biggest priority is avoiding injury; it’s a lot harder to recover from one than to avoid it in the first place. You accomplish this by slowly ramping up training volume, using decent shoes that aren’t worn out, and having decent form.
• heart rate training is neat
• sign up for a 5k

Try a Couch to 5K program. You start off mostly walking and slowly increase the amount of running. There are a bunch of great phone and watch apps. I like Watch to 5K for the Apple Watch (one-time purchase, no subscription).

https://c25k.com/

I recently started training my back and core, and it has made a huge difference in how I run.

I wouldn’t run everyday if I were you. Maybe start with 2-3 times a week. Honestly, you don’t need to run much to be in pretty good shape. 30 mins a couple times a week and you’ll be golden.

My advice is start slow and dont hurt yourself in the name of fitness. Its better to take a day off if your legs really hurt so that your body has time to heal rather than “work through the pain”.

And eat enough to fuel the new cardio. Doesnt do you much good if you arent giving your body enough to work with. If your trying to lose weight, slight calorie deficit of about 200 calories is typically recommended.

And listen to some music that pumps you up! Always made me love running. Good luck! You got this :)

I used an android app called “Just Run”. It’s a free couch to 5K app with no ads. Downside is it’s very simple and it only trains you on the length of your runs, not your distance. So I paired it with a cheap smartwatch to figure out how far I was going. I didn’t make it to 5k at the end of the app (altho I was able to run for 30 mins straight like the app trains you), but I continued to run afterwards now only using my smartwatch.

Initially I was going to run more frequently, but through the advice on the app, I found that it’s best to have at least one rest day in between runs. So I run every one to two days ideally unless I have something going on. It feels less pressuring and draining to do that way too.

Initially, my feet and knees (and even a bit of my chest from using my breathing muscles more lol) hurt a lot, but I just went slow and kept at it and eventually my body got used to running and now everything is fine. I do have mild chronic pain in my left foot, but I think it’s unrelated because it started happening before I picked up running.

Maybe a bit tmi, but I always be sure to take a dump in the morning before I go out for a run lol!!

Good luck! Remember, you don’t have to be Usain Bolt!

1. sustained elevated heartbeat is what gets you into shape. Aim for long slow runs over erratic runs with walking mixed in.

2. if you are doing this as a lifestyle thing, I commend you. If you are an early riser, 5am runs are the way to go. However, find a running schedule that is sustainable. If you find yourself struggling to keep at the morning runs, adjust your schedule into one that allows you to be routine.

Best of luck

Took awhile to get to where I am (5K+, 3xWeek). About a year and a half. I started out alternating my walk and run, running for :30 followed by walking 2:30 for 30 minutes 3 times a week. Doesn’t sound like much but having not been that physical in some years, I did feel it. Forcing myself into the habit of running was a challenge as well. Just had to keep doing it. Once I started pushing myself into the rest cycle, I took 15 seconds from the rest cycle and added it to my work cycle.

I kept doing this until I felt like I hit a plateau where I was no longer trying to push into the rest cycle. Then I talked to someone at work about how I wasn’t progressing and they recommended that I just slow down my run, a lot. They said run like I normally would but once I felt like I was sucking wind or it was getting to be too much, slow down to a point that you can control your breathing without difficulty. That really was the game changer for me, realizing that running, for me, was more about controlling your breath rather than the actual physical activity.

The biggest thing I learned about avoiding injury was to take my time, not to push too hard too fast, stretch before and after, and to give my body time to rest. Hope this helps.

What helps me most is to find a comfortable rhythm, which is a combination of stride cadence and breathing. I’ve read advice on counting strides, and matching breaths to certain steps. It’s hard for me to coordinate all that so I go by feel. If you’re not feeling comfortable maybe try going slower.

When your legs don’t want to move it could mean that your muscles aren’t warmed up. You might feel better after taking it easy at the start of the run. Or your muscles might be tired from recent exercise. Either way make sure you’re hydrated.

Why do you need to get up at 4am to run at 5am? Prep stuff the night beforehand, get up at 5 and be out the door by 5:02am. No coffee, no shitting, no turning and tossing and stretching for half an hour in bed.

Just go out and run and deal with the rest after.

Maybe try biking for a while to build some muscle mass without the impact or strain of running.

Like others have said - couch to 5K or similar, definitely follow a plan. Following a plan can help prevent injury from overuse or burnout if you’re not making progress. I would also suggest active stretches as you get ready to run. Swinging your legs, high stepping, butt kickers, side lunges, walking lunges, etc. The idea is not to increase flexibility with these, but rather to warm up- and don’t do anything that hurts! There’s no need to go nuts. Just to get muscles moving a bit before running

Use an interval running app.

I’ve never been a runner (had knee problems that weren’t discovered and fixed till I was almost 40), started with a simple interval running app (Just Run), and was stunned by how quickly I went from barely being able to run for 1 or 2 minutes to doing a full 2k (though not fast).

A couple other apps:

Map Runner

Zombie Run (uses a story of zombies chasing you to setup the intervals, like listening to a podcast or a movie while running)

I second the couch to 5k comments. Additionally, If you have a parkrun (or international equivalent) give that a go for motivation and to help see time gains - they allow walking so you can do walk/jog intervals.

I do want to ask though - why the hour between getting up and running? I (generally) recommend against running after eating. Get up, go for a run, then eat/shower etc after